Utah Adventure 2023

 Sunny, hazy with temps in the 40s ... and it's the last day of 2023. Wow! As I head up to Antelope Island just after 7:30am, it's hazy and very foggy in spots. Kinda of a gross but I'm heading up anyway. When I pass thru the gate, I can see anything on either side of the causeway but as I get farther, I can start seeing sky and then the peripheral vision gets better and better as I get closer to the Island - yea! But it's still hazy. I arrive on the Island and south. It's a drive thru hazy skies and fog just depending on where I'm at. But the fog remains on Farmington Bay. I see a Porcupine in a tree east of Frary Peak; a lone bison near the Homestead and that's it on the drive down to the Ranch. The return trip only yields a few additional bison near that lone one. And an adult Bald Eagle perched in a tree east of Frary Peak. Very cool! I reach the Beacon Hill trail head and I'm the only car. It's 27 degrees and sunny. Not sure how far I'm maki

 Sunny day with temps near 50 in the valley. After lunch decided to head up to Little Dell Reservoir just to walk down the road down to the water (not the trail). There are pockets of snow but 98% is snow-free on the west side of the water. Looking for anything of note. There are a few Goldeneye ducks on the water and they are making some quacks. I see a Chickadee and some rabbit tracks in the snow. And then I got the surprise of the day - a white fluttering butterfly! Yes, a butterfly (a non-overwintering species) on Dec 29! Holy cow! Oh, it's a Western White. (Originally assumed it was a Checkered White because I thought Westerns were high elevation flyers. I was corrected by the butterfly experts. Never assume :)) Fortunately I get a photo before it flies down the hill closer to the water. Wow! I guess scrapping at Antelope Island this morning paid off! Butterfly expert said:  That is absolutely amazing!! For some reason the pupa did not diapause; but, took an extended time to f

Merry Christmas! It cold and snowless in SLC.  And even colder in the mountains so I'm going part way to the Reservoir this morning. I have wool, fleece, light winter coat, wool hat and my best gloves and mask. It's not an early start; more like closer to 10 am. I wind up Emigration Canyon this morning. Great view down into the SL valley as the inversion is not strong yet. I crest at the Pass and start going downhill. I'm looking around hoping I spot a deer/elk/moose. I'm about 1/2 way down and I spot some dark in the trees farther down. Fortunate for me, there's a pull-off and I pull in and get out of my car for a look. At first I see nothing but then there's the dark spot. I zoom in with my camera and.... it's Moose!!  Awesome Christmas present! There's no antlers so I'm not sure male/female but it's actively eating.  I watch for a bit before heading down. Not many people out this morning - not unexpected. The water is unfrozen but there's

 Sunny w/ a few early clouds with highs in the low 30s. Heading up to Antelope Island this morning. The plan is Gravel Pit/Beacon Hill; bison permitted. It's in the upper 20s when I arrive on the causeway.  It's frosty this morning with a few hawks flying around. But no critters except gull and a few ducks. I arrive on the Island and there are no bison in sight. In fact, I don't see any critters except a lone bison after the pit toilets.  Oh, there was what looked like a Kestrel that some folks were taking a photo of at the rocks near the Frary Peak turn-off. Quiet morning. No bison near Sentry Peak, I so want to hike that. Soon I will; just giving my hip some more time. I turn at the Ranch and start north. Across from that lone bison but far to the west, I see a few blacks dots on the mountain that I'll bet are bison! Then rolling up on the Frary Peak round, there's about 20 pronghorn heading north!!! Yea!! I arrive at the Gravel Pit trail. There's one car alre

 Sunny day with highs in the upper 40s. Thought about heading into the mountains this morning but running some errands won and the hike waited until the afternoon when it was sunnier and warmer. Heading to Little Dell Reservoir. Not sure what to expect as to snow on the ground; it's been a while since we've had snow and we've had a lot of sun. Just hoping for no mud. I arrive and there's snow around the reservoir. Not so much for the south and east facing slopes though. It beautiful as usual. I do not see any ducks on the water and yes it's open water still. The trail is snowpacked so on go the yaktrak and I start down hill. Towards the bottom I do run into mud - ick! But I skirt it by walking the grasses. I'm on the bottom and back in the snowpack - yea! I head up the trail stopping at a turn off to the reservoir and I head down. There are a few ducks on the water after all!! Time to continue along the trail. Not many animals tracks; I do find rabbit and a moos

 Cloudy day with highs in the low 40s. Heading to Antelope Island today hoping to walk to Beacon Hill again but as always, it depends on the bison. And considering the bison were along the trail on Tuesday, I'm skeptical. It's 31 degrees and cloudy as I cross the causeway. I'm surprised by the snow on Antelope Island; guess they got more snow up here and we got rain. It's very pretty though. No Kestrels this morning but I do spot 2 coyotes on the Salt Lake side. I think the one is the same one I saw last Tuesday as he is limping. But he's hanging in there and he has some help for now. Almost looks like he has a broken hip. (Maybe he got hit by a car.) Several boats of duck hunters near the Island this morning but there are only sea gulls around. The ducks are smarter and are farther south in Farmington Bay. And a black dot in the distance which is an adult Bald Eagle and he appears to have gotten a duck this morning. I reach the Island and head south towards the Ran

 Sunny day with highs near 50 in the valley. Taking my final vacation day of the year off to head up to Antelope Island for a quick hike. The plan is to hike the Gravel Pit but it depends on where the bison are. Arrive on the Causeway with the sun still rising of the mountains. Very damp and a good amount of water on both sides of the road thanks to the Fri/Sat/Sun snow/rain combo storm. (It dumped around 50 inches of snow at Alta & Snowbird.) I pass a Kestrel on my way across. At some point, I spot something white and old on the Salt Lake side. Hey! That's 2 adult Bald Eagles!! Seems a bit early and a bit warm for them to be here already but hey, that's awesome!! (On further review of the photo, in the background are Tundra Swans -- way cool! I thought they were sea gulls!) Still only a few duck along the causeway. The water is flat (great reflections) and the wind non-existent. Perfect day. As I approach the Island, I see that there are bison behind the VC. And sure enoug